Back in 2016, James Barry's murder garnered a lot of attention after his ex-girlfriend Melanie Eam allegedly stabbed the 21-year-old young man to death after he broke up with her via a video game chat. Eam, the accused in this case, was only 20 years old at the time. She was charged with second-degree murder after a group of six jurors found her guilty.
The case was pretty straightforward, despite the defense's attempts to shift blame elsewhere. Eam went to James Barry's Loxahatchee home in the early hours of November 17, 2016, after he allegedly broke their relationship via a video game chat. There, she stabbed him seven times in a fit of rage with a butcher knife from Barry's kitchen.
She was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 2018 for the second-degree murder of James Barry. Eam was 22 years old at the time.
What did Melanie Eam do?
Melanie Eam, a Florida native, was charged with second-degree murder after her alleged assault on her ex-boyfriend James Barry. According to sources, Barry broke off his two-year-long off-on relationship with Eam over a chat in League of Legends.
Their conversation allegedly read:
"Oh, you forgot about me." "I thought we were happy." "Thanks for just leaving me through a (League of Legends) chatFollowing this, Melanie Eam allegedly visited Barry's Loxahatchee home to confront him about the breakup. However, Barry confessed that he was not in love with her for months. This further aggravated the matter, culminating in Eam's assault with the knife. Eam allegedly stabbed Barry seven times around his chest and neck.
Jeff Jarzabkowski, a friend of Barry's, was over at his place that night. He had reportedly fallen asleep when the assault took place. He woke up to James Barry's cries. Jeff tried to help Barry in every way possible. Barry's mother's boyfriend, Guy Hand, also tried to perform emergency CPR on the young man, but to no avail. In an emotional statement, Jeff recalled:
"I see an open wound near like his chest, neck area,...I tried to cover the wound the best I can,..Not even seconds later, I see the light go in his eyes."After the assault, Eam allegedly fled the scene and made her way to Maryland before briefly stopping at her home. Authorities tracked Melanie Eam down to Maryland with information from Eam's cousin. There she confessed to stabbing Barry. Though the defense tried to build an alternate theory about the murder, it all circled back to Eam in the end.
Where is Melanie Eam now?
After Eam's arrest, prosecutors built a strong case with all evidence pointing towards the 20-year-old in this brutal murder case. Assistant State Attorney Lauren Godden said during her closing argument:
"That hurts. That would hurt any human being...But she acted like an unreasonable person and decided she's going to take out a large butcher knife and stab him with it."The rather straightforward trial went on for two days before the jury went into deliberation. The jury found Eam guilty of second-degree murder after deliberating for four hours. Melanie Eam was sentenced to 50 years in prison, scheduled to be released in 2066. She is currently in prison, where she will spend most of her life.
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